Roosevelt Network Launches Annual Emerging Fellows Research Program

Today, the Roosevelt Network launched the latest research papers from its Emerging Fellowship program, a yearlong opportunity for college students to dig deeper into formal research and advocacy efforts in areas ranging from healthcare to climate change.

This year, the fellowship was awarded to Tarun Ramesh (University of Georgia), who focused on the opioid crisis in Georgia; Karl Meakin (Northeastern University), who focused on-campus sustainability efforts; and Adekunle Balogun (Columbia University), who will focus on environmental racism in New York City.

Specifically, their research explored the following problems:

• The opioid crisis in Georgia: Possession of scheduled drugs like prescription opiates remains both a federal and Georgia state crime. Expansion of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in correctional facilities is critical to reducing addiction rates among vulnerable populations, notably inmates and individuals of low socioeconomic status. This paper suggests why the Athens-Clarke County Jail, which incarcerates individuals from both urban and rural areas, should implement a pilot program for MAT due to its unique population.
• Campus sustainability at Northeastern University: Northeastern has committed to reducing 80 percent of its carbon emissions by the year 2050 and wants sustainability to factor into all of its building designs. As this research suggests, Northeastern can reach—and surpass—its emissions-reduction goals and become a leader in global climate action by instituting a flat-fee, revenue-positive carbon price along with a proxy price on new construction and building renovations.
• Environmental racism in the Bronx, NY: This research, which is expected in Q4 2019, will analyze zoning policies that degrade air quality and increase asthma rates in low-income communities in the South Bronx.

“Our Emerging Fellows program seeks to give students the unique opportunity to dig deeper into an issue they see in their own communities and to practice putting together a policy solution that can evoke real change,” said Program Manager, Fernanda Nogueira.

To learn more about the significance of these proposals, read more in our “Why this Matters” series here and here.

About the Roosevelt Institute

The Roosevelt Institute, a New York-based think tank, promotes bold policy reforms that would redefine the American economy and our democracy. With a focus on curbing corporate power and reclaiming public power, Roosevelt is helping people understand that the economy is shaped by choices—via institutions and the rules that structure markets—while also exploring the economics of race and gender and the changing 21st-century economy. Roosevelt is armed with a transformative vision for the future, working to move the country toward a new economic and political system: one built by many for the good of all.

To keep up to date with the Roosevelt Institute, please visit us on Twitter or follow our work at #RewriteTheRules.

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